Accolades

  • Listed in "Best Lawyers of America" since its inception in 1994
  • Most Respected Advocate in 2006 by the Defense Bar of the State of Michigan
  • Outstanding Attorney of the Year in Ingham County
Martindale-Hubbell Peer Review Rated

Areas of Focus

Respected and experienced personal injury Michigan attorneys

William N. Kritselis & Associates, P.C. offers a variety of legal services, but we are premier personal injury specialists. We have handled every kind of personal injury case, including:

  • Serious injury and wrongful death
  • Birth injury cases
  • 18-wheeler accidents
  • Auto accidents
  • Construction accidents
  • Medical malpractice on babies, children, and adults
  • Injuries involving children
  • Drowning, diving, and defective toys
  • Doctor and hospital malpractice
  • Slip and fall
  • Defective components
  • Rollovers, fuel system fires, seat belts, roof crush, and door latches
  • Airplane accidents
  • Train/railroad crossing accidents
  • Nursing home abuse
  • Pharmacy and prescription errors
  • Insurance claims
  • Defective or dangerous products
  • Dog bites
  • Accidents resulting from drunk drivers leaving hotels, bars, and private parties
  • Workers compensation/social security claims

Personal injury involves civil law cases where you are trying to obtain compensation for an injury you sustained. If you win, you may receive money to compensate for medical costs, lost wages, lost future earnings, and pain and suffering. In Michigan, the statute of limitation for filing a personal injury case is three years, malpractice is two years, and only one year for libel/slander - Chapter 600, Act 236, Ch. 58, Sec. 600.5805, number 9.

 

Serious Injury & Wrongful Death

Anytime that you, a family member or a friend sustain serious injury and/or death, someone should immediately call Bill Kritselis at 517-351-0250, then take photographs of the injured parties and the area where the damage occurred.

Whenever death occurs, the decedent estate must be opened in Probate Court. This is very significant because the statute of limitations does not begin to run until the Probate Court orders the appointment of a personal representative. Then, and only then, does the statute of limitations begin. This is extremely important because many attorneys do not know or have forgotten this rule. When attorneys advise clients regarding the amount of time that is available, they must advise the clients that even though 3 years may have expired, the Michigan rule states that the statute has not run because no one has opened an estate with Probate Court. The maximum time from the date of injury or death is 3 years for injury and, in a death case, a maximum of 5 years from the time the estate was opened as long as it’s within the statute’s time frame.

The statutes for injured persons are as follows:

  • Personal injury – a 3- year statute.
  • Lawsuits against highway or governmental agencies require that these agencies must be given notice of the facts of the occurrence. No notice – no case. Call Bill Kritselis at 517-351-0250 immediately. This is a 2 year statute.
  • With medical malpractice injury or death, it is a 2-year statute.
  • With infants, the statute would not run for at least a dozen years.
  • With juveniles, there would be a longer statute than adults.
  • If someone is permanently brain damaged affecting their ability to think and act or help themselves, the statute may never run.

It is extremely important that you contact Bill Kritselis at 517-351-0250 as soon as possible. The next thing that you should try to do is acquire names of witnesses with phone numbers and addresses. If there are accident areas or products that cause harm, you should immediately take photos and try to keep the products in your possession.

 

Medical Malpractice

Medical malpractice has been continually attacked by the powerful, moneyed interests in our society. This onslaught against the citizen’s ability to obtain physical and emotional recovery is always mischaracterized. This mischaracterization results from the constant volume of lies that are used by special interest groups to attack men, women, and children. The decades-long, repetitive message that physicians must practice defensive medicine by ordering unnecessary tests to protect themselves from lawsuits, thus driving up medical care costs is a lie. If the health care providers are practicing within the standard of care and then order unnecessary tests, they have breached the standard of care…they’ve committed medical malpractice.

Physicians marched on the State Capitol 30 years ago and the Legislature reacted by passing legislation that was contrary to civility. The victims of malpractice in the United States number in the hundreds of thousands per year. Some of the mistakes that are committed on the patient are never announced to the family or to the patient. The cost in our society for the victim of malpractice is staggering. When you suspect that you or your family or friends have been violated by improper care, i.e. breach of the standard of care, you should contact Bill Kritselis at 517-351-0250 immediately.

REPUTABLE NATIONAL SURVEYS HAVE SHOWN THAT THE NATION’S COST FOR THE MALPRACTICE SYSTEM IS LESS THAN .01 CENTS OF THE TOTAL HEALTH CARE COST.

The applicable 2- year statute of limitations is ridiculous in many instances. The classic example is when we continue to treat with our doctor for a number of years after the injuries have occurred (unaware that they have occurred), and we now decide to change physicians. It is from the new physician that we learn of the medical mistake. By now, it’s 5 years after the injury has occurred, and the victim can do nothing. Under this new rule, the statute of limitations is ostensibly worthless.

Under the old rule, the statute of limitations would not start to run until you left the violator of your person. The maximum amount in Michigan for malpractice injury is $300,000 plus interest, which would include death cases. If you are on Medicaid or Medicare, the government would have a lien on the lawsuit recovery, and this would have to be taken into account.

There is a second statute where the malpractice victim has the opportunity to recover up to $500,000 plus interest. When the victim is permanently brain-damaged, paralyzed or the reproductive system has been improperly violated by the treating physician, then you qualify for the second statute.

In both statutes, you can make a claim for your medical bills, lost wages and the necessity of third parties to help you survive, i.e. cook your food, buy your groceries and transport you to whatever services you need. These amounts can run into the millions. Call Bill Kritselis at 517-351-0250 immediately.

 

Birth Injury, Brain Damage & Cerebral Palsy

Upon any hospital admission or any lab testing, always obtain copies of lab reports, radiology (doctor) reports, and discs that show all CAT scans, X-rays and MRI’s performed on the patient. When ordering the hospital records, prepare a list as follows to be sent to the medical records library of the hospital: i.e., admitting history and physical information; doctor’s notes; nurses’ notes; anesthesia records; delivery room records; copies of all monitoring tests; all prescription records; consultation notes; pre-operative, operative and post-operative records; discharge summary notes and any other documents that may be in the charts. When requesting radiology information, be sure that you ask for the discs or actual film and copies of the radiologist’s reports.

Call Bill Kritselis at 517-351-0250. He will be very happy to obtain the records for you. A very serious tragedy can occur during pregnancy, hospitalization for observation and/or delivery and post-delivery. Occasionally, an inappropriate history is obtained from the expectant mother. This can be devastating because the physician either forgot or never knew that the mother needed appropriate and timely medical intervention. Sometimes the mother’s condition is not a good environment for the infant, and therefore, the infant should be removed in a timely fashion. Other times, the baby in the womb is exhibiting stress with signs that indicate the infant should be removed immediately. Many times upon delivery, the baby will have a pediatric neurologist or pediatrician with a neo-natal nurse to administer immediate needs treatment and transportation to the neo-natal intensive care unit.

The transfer from the O.R. to the neo-natal unit can potentially be a risky venture. The placement of the infant in the crib requires around-the-clock monitoring. The blood, its mineral content and the body’s oxygen is constantly monitored. Failure to anticipate certain medical events can lead to horrific tragedies to the infant and its family. Many times, no one is aware that the child has cerebral palsy or other difficulties until they see that the infant’s development is not appropriate, i.e. it can’t crawl or roll over. It may take months or a year or more before the family becomes aware of the problem.

The mother also may be improperly treated and should obtain hospital records of her current treatment to review. Some physicians (very few) may cause ripping and tearing of the mother’s anatomy. The injuries can be very serious and require surgical intervention on more than one occasion. When there are serious permanent injuries to the reproductive system of the mother or any other patient, that could raise the recovery limit from $300,000 plus interest to $500,000 plus interest.

The infant may have been severely oxygen deprived during the period before delivery. Often times, this may be reflected on the tapes used to monitor the infants. Children may have brain damage much like that of the newborns defined above. Typically, automobile accidents, motorcycle, bicycle, skating and other methods of travel mode can create potential brain-damaging situations. Young juveniles always should wear safety helmets whenever they are on these conveyances.

Adults who have sustained brain damage may have varying physical appearances. The motor vehicle or other injury mechanisms may cause serious injury in the form of Traumatic Brain Injury (TBI). The victim may have as little as a momentary blackout that causes memory loses. It is always important to have other parties available to attest to the fact that the victim’s memory has changed. The health care provider should make a referral to a rehabilitation doctor and a neuropsychologist. These types of injuries can be very damaging to the family, marriage and employment venue. The neuropsychological testing is non-invasive and requires writing, checking boxes and answering a few questions.

 

Auto Accidents

Auto accidents in Michigan are very complicated for damage recovery. They are known as first party claims, i.e. the injured person’s claim is against their own auto insurance company. The victim has 12 months to notify his own company which will entitle them to lifetime medical for injuries related to this accident and transportation to and from a health care provider. If you are employed at the time of injury or were gainfully looking for work, you will be entitled to 85% of your wages for 3 years. You also may be entitled to $20 per day if your doctor says that you need help around the house to feed and clothe yourself. If you are on a bicycle or are a pedestrian, then the vehicle that strikes you is responsible for damages. If you live in a home where there is no automobile coverage and you are a passenger in a car that has no auto coverage and the car that strikes you has no auto coverage, then you may petition the No-Fault Fund for all of the benefits that I have just enumerated. If you have non-coordinated benefits, then your health insurance will pay your bills, and your no-fault company will send you a check for those bills.

At the time of the accident that causes you injury, you may be entitled to money damages for those injuries. You need sophisticated, experienced, seasoned lawyers to handle these cases. Call Bill Kritselis at 517-351-0250. Do not try to handle this kind of case by yourself. You will pay dearly if you do. As soon as possible, take photographs of yourself or your loved ones showing the injuries.

If you document a brain-injury case that may occur with minor or drastic collisions, you do not have to worry about serious impairment of body function which has been interpreted by the old Michigan Supreme Court to mean that this has permanently affected your normal lifestyle. The Supreme Court, by its decision, has caused a great deal of misery for the Michigan-injured-driving public, Thank goodness we citizens got rid of the influence of Justice Clifford Taylor in this past election.

If you are someone who has a profound, debilitating injury or paralysis or loss of multiple limbs, you may require changes to your home or vehicle or other methods of transportation on a permanent bases. If necessary, you are entitled to the best prosthesis for amputation injuries. You also may be required to have constant nursing and other care. When the accident occurs and you are able to gather your thoughts, please be guarded in what you say and to whom you say it. You should also have pictures of the motor vehicle involved in the collision and of the accident site itself if you can do it. You should put on paper the names of all witnesses that were at the accident scene.

Very important insurance information: When purchasing your insurance policy, it should reflect a minimum of $300,000 to $500,000 in liability limits. Preferable, you should have a minimum of $500,000 so that when the uninsured motorist strikes you, you can then sue your own company for your personal injury damages. When the operator of a motor vehicle strikes you and they only have $20,000 or any other low level of insurance, you can sue them as well as your own company which could be $20,000 subtracted from the $500,000, so you could collect $480,000 from your own company. If you have severe injuries and an insurance adjuster shows you that the policy limits are $50,000 from the motor vehicle that struck you, do not settle your case because the driver may be running an errand for a business (which you can sue) or may not be the owner of the car (you can sue the owner) or the driver may have his own insurance policy (perhaps a million dollars in liability insurance) separate from this car.

Truck accidents may result in serious permanent injuries to the truck driver. The injured victim may be entitled to worker’s compensation and no-fault differential between 66% worker’s compensation and 85% no-fault. The truck driver also may be entitled to some of the benefits that have been listed in the above paragraphs.

 

Slip & Fall

In any slip and fall case, be cautious about any statements to anybody who questions you at the scene. This is so important. People will many times discuss and say things that are not correct, but because of the trauma and stress, the facts are misstated. Serious, debilitating injury may occur and you should contact Bill Kritselis at 517-351-0250 immediately, take photographs of evidence of injury and attempt to go back to the scene of the accident and take photos. The injured party is entitled to collect full and fair damages and is not limited like automobile no-fault.

 

Dog Bites

The State of Michigan has passed a statute that the owner of a dog that bites someone is accountable to pay damages. The lack of a prior dog attack is not important since a violation of the statute allows you to make a claim for damages. Call Bill Kritselis at 517-351-0250 for help.

Pictures are extremely important and should be taken of the bite area that shows the bite damage. Further, if possible, photos should be taken of the dog and the location of the incident. The animal control department of the county should be called so that officials can investigate. Most patients will require some neuropsychological or psychological assistance based upon the physical assault of the dog.

Dogs are potentially very dangerous and can cause horrible damages of a permanent nature, physically and psychologically. The author has seen the results of a bite from a dog so small that it fits in your hand. It ripped the face of a 6-month old infant who was crawling on the carpet. The injuries were permanent in nature.

 

Workers Compensation

Workers compensation is the system of laws intended to protect injured workers. The goal of a workers compensation claim is to make sure that you receive appropriate payment if you are injured at work. Workers compensation covers:

  • Medical care
  • Lost wages
  • Retraining
  • Rehabilitation if needed to re-enter the workplace, or benefits for your family if you are killed on the job

Most workers in Michigan are covered by Michigan Workers Compensation. Some workers who may not be covered, however, include agricultural workers and federal workers such as postal carriers. Employees of businesses with three or fewer workers also may be exempt.

 

Job Discrimination

Employment discrimination laws protect employees from being discriminated against by gender, age, race, color, national origin, religion, marital status, sexual orientation, pregnancy, and disability. Forms of discrimination include biases in:

  • Hiring
  • Promotion
  • Job assignment
  • Termination
  • Compensation
  • Harassment

If you are a victim of discrimination, harassment, wrongful termination, denied benefits, breach of employment contract, or any other transgression by your employer, contact us. Our lawyers can help you understand your rights, gain equal treatment, and obtain compensation.

 

Social Security Disability

Social Security Disability benefits are designed to help disabled individuals unable to work and therefore have little or no income. The inability to work can be the result of mental damage, such as depression, or a physical injury, such as the following:

  • Paralysis
  • Lower back injury
  • Carpal tunnel syndrome

If you have lost your ability to work because of a mental or physical ailment, you may be eligible to receive Social Security Disability benefits if you worked for a certain amount of time and paid in social security taxes.

Whether you are filing for Social Security Disability benefits, have been denied Social Security benefits, or want to know whether you qualify for Social Security Disability benefits, our attorneys can help you to make the best choices for your situation.

 

Call us today

Your helpline to justice is available 24 hours a day, seven days a week. If necessary, William N. Kritselis & Associates, P.C. can come to you wherever you need us, at our expense. Consultations are free, so call, click, or visit now.